5 Must-Try Iconic Local Snacks While In New Zealand

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When traveling to another country, apart from the sights and scenes, one must also immerse themselves in the food to get the full experience. If you think that New Zealand is only famous for its oh-so-picturesque Sound-of-Music-like views, think again. Surprise surprise – the land of the Hobbits is also renowned for some very tantalising vivers. And no I’m not talking about legit huge as meals, far from that in fact – I’m talking about the small little gems that simply cannot be missed. These bursts of happiness are definitely something all New Zealanders grew up with. They’ve almost become the icons of everyone’s childhood. Therefore ladies and gentlemen, when you do hop over in the very near future, let not this list slip past your memory. Truly it is a list baked in paradise 😉

1. Pascall’s Pineapple Lumps

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Pineapple Lumps are exactly what they’re called. They are soft pineapple chews coated in a thin layer of milk chocolate that were first created in the 50s. Alright kids, I know having pineapple chews in your chocolate is quite the novelty, but don’t let that stop you from trying this. Once eaten, there’s no turning back. By the way, because they are quite rare to find elsewhere, it has become common to send Pineapple Lumps as a gift to Kiwi expats overseas!

2. L&P

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L&P stands for Lemon and Paeroa and is basically like lemonade. Here’s the story: Back in the early 1900s, some genius discovered that the mineral water in Paeroa contained a lot of magnesium bicarbonate which made it fizzy. Then they decided to mix it with lemon juice and voila – L&P the iconic Kiwiana NZ drink was born. It is everyone’s all time favourite and can be found smugly lying in the drinks bath of all parties or events. It’s also advertised ironically yet comically on the bottle as “World famous in New Zealand”! How bou dah?

3. Tip Top Hokey Pokey Ice Cream

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This is basically two iconic New Zealand stuff in one. Tip Top is one of the most common ice cream brands while hokey pokey is the most eaten ice cream flavour in New Zealand. The hokey pokey ice cream consists of sweet, crunchy and sticky honeycomb balls buried inside rich vanilla ice cream. For those of you who find vanilla ice cream a bit too bland, Hokey Pokey is the flavour to try. The honeycomb balls provide just the extra kick you need yet don’t overwhelm you by being unbearably sweet.

4. Griffin’s Biscuits

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Now this one is more about the brand than anything else really. Griffin’s is a New Zealand company founded in 1864 that specialises in manufacturing biscuits, snack food and confectionery. Over the years it has produced so many well-loved biscuits (and still does) that it is hard to single out one as the best. Among the best however are ToffeePops, MallowPuffs, Squiggles, Gingernuts, Macaroons, Cookie Bear 100s and 1000s… Okay I lied, the list can go on because they are all the best 😉

5. Whittaker’s Peanut Slab

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Ahhh chocolate, how could one forget? One should especially not forget Whittaker’s Peanut Slabs actually. First of all, can we talk about the packaging? Not only is that classy vintage gold foil look akin to some grand royal British thingamabob, it is also reminiscent of the golden ticket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The Peanut Slab itself might look like some ordinary chocolate block at first sight, but once you bite into it, your taste buds rejoice for what greets them is soft luscious thick peanut butter. Heaven indeed.

So there you have it, piefaces! I hope the sweet journey has been enlightening and when you do try out the stuff, be sure to leave a comment below or post a photo and tag us on Instagram!